French police announce manhunt for Paris terror suspect who was freed by police

Police named Salah Abdeslam as a suspect and said he is on the run and dangerous.

They might have freed the wrong man.

French authorities identified a suspect for the Paris massacre Sunday and warned the public about the fugitive— even though police reportedly caught and released him hours after the terror attacks.

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Police named Salah Abdeslam, 26, as a suspect and said he is the brother of Ibrahim Abdeslam, one of the suicide bombers who detonated in the heart of France's capital. Both brothers lived in Belgium, and a third brother is also believed to be part of the terror plot, officials said.

The fugitive is dangerous, police said, warning civilians to "not intervene yourself" if he is spotted.

But authorities apparently realized that too late.

French police questioned Abdeslam and released him just hours after the Friday massacre, according to officials speaking with The Associated Press. Authorities reportedly stopped Abdeslam in a car with two other men near the Belgian border, checked his ID and let him go.

Abdeslam, 26, is suspected of renting the black Volkswagen Polo that dropped off attackers at the sold-out Bataclan theater, which was the site of the deadliest attack from Friday's night series of assaults. At least 89 people were killed there after an ambush of an Eagles of Death Metal concert, while dozens of others were killed in shootings and bombings around Paris. The bloodbath also left about 350 people wounded.

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Police named Abdeslam after authorities found the Volkswagen outside the concert hall, with a Brussels parking ticket andthree AK-47 rifles inside.

French officials said two suicide bombers, who haven't been named, were French nationals who lived in Belgium. Another terrorist, identified by The Washington Post as Bilal Hadfi, was also a Belgium resident.